Passenger vehicles offered by manufacturers reflect the demands and preferences of the consumer public ranging from traditional automobile designs to trucks and variations thereof. Recent years have witnessed the dramatic expansion of utility vehicles such as mini-vans and sport utility vehicles. These vehicles often include carriers of one kind or another mounted externally to the vehicle for the purpose of carrying articles.
The vehicle surface to which the carrier is mounted may be a vehicle roof top, rear deck, cargo bed, or the like. An article carrier generally comprises an elevated frame comprising a variety of rails that is supported above the vehicle surface by a plurality of support assemblies that connect the frame to the vehicle. The support assemblies are usually unique to each make and model of vehicle, therefore requiring a large number of individual support designs. Unique designs generally result in increased production and inventory costs, thus adversely affecting the cost of the vehicle and replacement parts.
The desire to streamline production design and reduce inventory requirements of the various manufacturers makes the unique designs of the past undesirable. Therefore, there is a need in the industry for a support assembly structure that is generally interchangeable between vehicles while simultaneously adaptable to different aesthetic designs.